  | ||
|
|
Critical Survey of Short Fiction, 2d Rev. Ed. Yukio Mishima Born: Tokyo, Japan; January 14, 1925 Died: Tokyo, Japan; November 25, 1970 Principal Short Fiction Hanazakari no mori, 1944 (includes plays) Kaibutsu, 1950 Tfnorikai, 1951 Manatsu no shi, 1953 (Death in Midsummer and Other Stories, 1966) Eirei no Koe, 1966 (includes essays) Other Literary Forms Yukio Mishima wrote more than eighty short stories; twenty novels; more than twenty plays, several in the manner of the classical Nf dramas, as well as plays for the Kabuki theater; several essay collections; two travel books; a bit of poetry; and a handful of works that defy clear-cut classification. Achievements The collected works of Yukio Mishima form thirty-six volumes, more than the literary production of any other writer of his time. The Japanese writer best known outside Japan, from the viewpoint of Western critics he is the most gifted of the post-World War II writers. Mishima also combined his knowledge of classic Japanese literature and language with his wide knowledge of Western literature to produce plays for the Kabuki theater and the first truly successful modern Nf plays. While uneven in some volumes, style is the most distinctive feature of Mishima's work. His writing is characterized by beautiful but rarely lyric passages. Figures of speech, notable in his later works, are also present in his juvenilia. He consistently used ornate language, though he could also write realistic dialogue. A Nobel Prize hopeful at least two times, Mishima is among those Japanese writers closest to attaining the rank of master of twentieth century fiction. Biography Kimitake Hiraoka, who began using the pseudonym Yukio Mishima in 1941, was the son of a middle-class government official who worked in Tokyo. When Mishima was less than two months old, his paternal grandmother, Natsu, took the boy to her living quarters; his mother, Shizue, felt helpless to protest, and his father, Azusa, appeared to be totally subjected to his mother's will. In 1931, Mishima was enrolled in the Gakush n in (the Peer's School), a school attended largely by young aristocrats. In due time, he was graduated at the head of his class and received a silver watch from the emperor personally at the imperial palace. By this time, his literary gifts had already become evident, and "Hanazakari no mori" ("The Forest in Full Bloom") was published in 1941. In 1946, Mishima entered the Tokyo Imperial University to study law. After being employed for a time at the Ministry of Finance, he resigned in 1948 to devote full time to writing. The publication of Kamen no kokuhaku (1949; Confessions of a Mask, 1958) established him as a literary figure. The 1950's were eventful years in Mishima's life. During this decade, he produced several novels, two of them major successes. He also traveled to the United States, Brazil, and Europe, and his visit to Greece in particular was a highlight because of its classical associations. During these years, Shiosai (1954; The Sound of Waves, 1956), a best-seller, was published and film rights were sold, and Shiroari no su (1956; the nest of the white ants) established his reputation as a playwright. He also began a bodybuilding program (having been a spare, sickly child) and married Yoko Sugiyama in 1958. During the first half of the 1960's, writing plays occupied Mishima's time. He trained at the Jieitai (Self-Defense Forces) bases and traveled periodically. He was a strong contender for the Nobel Prize in 1968, the year that his mentor Yasunari Kawabata won. The short story "Y n koku" ("Patriotism"), in which the hara-kiri (ritual suicide by disembowelment) of a young patriot is described, was published in 1961. He also acted in his first film, a gangster story. By this time, Mishima's obsession with death was manifested both in word and in deed. He developed a plan for organizing a private army to be used somehow in his death, a step labeled foolish by his friends and ignored by others. During the final five months of his life, he completed the third and fourth books of his tetralogy H f j f no umi (1969-1971; The Sea of Fertility, 1972-1974), and on November 25, 1970, he delivered the final volume to the magazine that was publishing it in installments. Later that day, following his plan and schedule implicitly, Mishima went to the Ichigaya Self-Defense headquarters with a group of his Shield Society (a private legion) and, following a nationalistic speech, committed ritual seppuku. Analysis The world will never know what course the literary career of Yukio Mishima might have taken had he not died at age forty-five. Nevertheless, he was the best known of post-World War II writers among critics and readers outside Japan, and he received a fair share of attention within his own country. Not all of his work was of equal literary merit, but a certain unevenness is almost certain for a prolific writer. Apart from his style, usually ornate and meticulously wrought, Mishima's success stemmed in part from his effectiveness in capturing the sense of void and despair that typified many Japanese during the postwar period. Another key to his success lay in his unusual interest in Japanese cultural tradition. His abilities, unique among his peers, enabled him to write in the genre of classical Kabuki and Nf plays. "The Forest in Full Bloom" Mishima's early works represent a period that both clarified the directions in which his talents would go and developed features that would become trademarks of his later works. He came to realize that poetry was not to be his major effort. In 1941, the year he was graduated from the Peer's School, he published his first long work, "The Forest in Full Bloom" in October, at the age of sixteen. The maturity of style in this juvenile work amazed his mentors and peers. The sophisticated word choice is noteworthy, but its maturity goes much farther; it establishes the major theme of his life's work, for he was well on his way to evolving the aesthetic formula that would distinguish his work: Longing leads to beauty; beauty generates ecstasy; ecstasy leads to death. Likewise, the sea, an important motif throughout his writing, is associated with death. Indeed, as Donald Keene has noted, Mishima seemed to be "intoxicated with the beauty of early death." Death in Midsummer and Other Stories Preoccupation with death is obvious even in the title of the short-story collection that constitutes Mishima's major short fiction, Death in Midsummer and Other Stories. The title story, "Death in Midsummer," takes an epigraph from one of Charles Baudelaire's poems that translates as "Death affects us more deeply under the stately reign of summer." The psychological realism of Mishima's presentation of the family's reactions to three deaths in the family is the focus of the story. Masaru and Tomoko Ikuta have two sons, Kiyoo and Katsuo, and a daughter, Keiko. Yasue, Tomoko's sister-in-law, is baby-sitting the children while Tomoko takes an afternoon nap. Despite warnings to the children against wandering away, during a brief moment when Yasue is preoccupied with other thoughts, two of the children disappear, leaving the three-year-old Katsuo alone, crying. When Yasue realizes what has happened, she is stricken with a heart attack and dies. Informed of Yasue's accident, Tomoko "felt a sort of sweet emptiness come over her. She was not sad." (This is only one of several passages in which a dearth of feeling is expressed.) Only then does she inquire about the children; she finds Katsuo, who informs her that "Kiyoo . . . Keiko . . . all bubbles." Tomoko is afraid; she sends her husband a telegram telling him that Yasue is dead and that the two children are missing, although by now it is clear that the children have drowned. Masaru prepares to go down to the resort where the family was vacationing. Devoid of any emotion, he feels more like a detective speculating on the circumstances of death than a distraught father. Intuitively, he senses that the children are dead, not simply missing. When he arrives at the resort, he hears that three people have died, and his thoughts turn to how to approach his wife. Funeral preparations are made. Tomoko is conscious of the incongruity of her almost insane grief alongside her businesslike attention to detail and her large appetite at such a time. She vacillates between a feeling of guilt and her knowledge that she did not cause the deaths. Dissatisfied, she believes that Yasue is lucky to be dead because she does not have to feel that she has been "demoted and condemned" by relatives. Mishima here intrudes to comment that although Tomoko does not know it, it is her "poverty of human emotions" that is most troubling her. On the surface, life returns to normal, but Tomoko associates almost everything with the tragic accident, while Masaru takes refuge in his work. Tomoko questions the fact that "she was living, the others were dead. That was the great evil. How cruel it was to have to be alive." Autumn comes and goes; and life becomes more peaceful, but Tomoko comes to feel as if she is waiting for something. To try to assuage her empty feelings, Tomoko seeks outside activities. She asks herself why she had not "tried this mechanical cutting off of the emotions earlier." Winter comes. Tomoko, who is to have another child, admits for the first time that the pain of the lost children was gone, but she cultivates forgetfulness in order not to have to deal with her feelings further. After two years, one summer day, Tomoko asks Masaru to return with her to the beach. Grudgingly, he consents. Tomoko is silent and spends much of her time gazing at the sea, as if she were waiting for something. Masaru wants to ask but then realizes that "he thought he knew without asking." As with much Japanese literature, the cycle of the seasons is prominent. Deaths come in midsummer, when things should be flourishing and in full bloom. When winter comes, the final ritual of burying the ashes of the dead is completed. Tomoko becomes pregnant, and Momoko is born the following summer. Again, it is summer when she returns to the beach. The cryptic ending is typical of some, not all, of Mishima's work. One may speculate that the return to the beach in the summer is a sign of acceptance or an effort by Tomoko to come to terms with her own identity. Possibly, her waiting represents some sense of communication with the spirits of the dead or even indicates a longing for her own death. A less gloomy interpretation of the return to the beach, however, may recall Baudelaire's line suggesting that death in summer is out of place; death is for the winter, when nature too is desolate. "The Priest of Shiga Temple and His Love" More often anthologized, the story "Shigadera Sh f nin no Koi" ("The Priest of Shiga Temple and His Love") manifests Mishima's familiarity with classical Japanese literature. At the same time, the central theme of the story is one that is common in the West but relatively rare in Japanese literature: the inner conflict between worldly love and religious faith. A brief account in a fourteenth century war chronicle of an elderly priest falling in love with the imperial concubine provides the subject matter of the story. It is the motivation of the concubine and the priest—rather than the events—that is the focus of the story. The priest is an exemplar of virtue; he is old and doddering, physically a "bag of bones"; it is unlikely that he would become infatuated with a beautiful young woman. When the concubine comes to the area to view the springtime foliage, the priest "unwittingly" glances in her direction, not expecting to be overwhelmed by her beauty. He is, however, and he realizes that "what he had imagined to be completely safe had collapsed in ruins." Never had he broken his vow of chastity, but he realizes that this new love has taken hold of him. The concubine, having forgotten their meeting, is reminded of it when she hears a rumor that an old priest has behaved as if he were crazed after having seen her. She, too, is without blemish in that, while she performed her duties to the emperor, she has never given her love to any suitor. The priest is now tormented by the implications of this love in relation to his attaining enlightenment. He longs to see the lady once more, confident in his delusion that this will provide escape from his present feelings. He goes to her garden, but when the concubine sees him, she orders that his presence be ignored; she is frightened when he continues to stand outside all night. The lady tells herself that this is a one-sided affair, that he can do nothing to her to threaten her security in the Pure Land. Finally, she admits him, and her white hand emerges from beneath the dividing blind that separates them, as custom decrees. She waits, but the priest says nothing. Finally, he releases her hand and departs. Rumor has it that a few days later, the priest "achieved his final liberation" and the concubine begins copying rolls of religious sutras. Thus, the love story between these two who both are faithful to the tenets of J f do Buddhism focuses on the point at which the ideal world structure that each one envisioned was in this incident "balanced between collapse and survival." If nothing more, the story reflects the aesthetic formed early in Mishima's life, which holds that beauty causes ecstasy which, in turn, causes death. "Patriotism" The story "Yfkoku" ("Patriotism") which was made into a film, is the first of several that focus on ideals of young military officers of the 1930's. To understand this work, it is important to grasp the meaning of the translation of the word "patriotism." The word y f koku means grieving over a country rather than loving a country (aikoku), which is a positive emotion. Thus, it is autobiographical in that it expresses Mishima's own grief over the country that he perceived to be in disorder. "Patriotism," according to Mishima's own evaluation, contains "both the best and the worst features" of his writing. The story concerns a young lieutenant, Shinji Takeyama, who commits seppuku because he feels that he cannot do what he has been ordered to do: lead an attack on the young rebels in the Ni Ni Roku Incident, an unsuccessful coup d’état that occurred on February 26, 1936, in Tokyo. Although Mishima was only eleven years old at the time of the incident, its influence on him provided the germ for two other works, a play T f ka no Kiku (1961; tenth-day chrysanthemums) and Eirei no Koe (voices of the heroic dead). These works confirm Mishima's growing dedication to imperialism. The story contains what is possibly the most detailed account of the samurai rite of seppuku in all of Japanese literature. Almost everything spoken or written by Mishima fits into a personal cosmology that evolved and was refined throughout his life; the living out of this system led to his death: Beauty leads to ecstasy, ecstasy to death. Literature was central to Mishima's cosmos and was virtually inseparable from it. To understand one is to comprehend the other. Mishima was obsessed with death, and to create beauty in his works, in his system, led inevitably to his death. Other Major Works Long Fiction: Kamen no kokuhaku, 1949 (Confessions of a Mask, 1958); Ai no kawaki, 1950 (Thirst for Love, 1969); Kinjiki, 1951 (translated with Higy f as Forbidden Colors, 1968); Higy f , 1953 (translated with Kinjiki as Forbidden Colors, 1968); Shiosai, 1954 (The Sound of Waves, 1956); Kinkakuji, 1956 (The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, 1959); Ky f ko no ie, 1959; Utage no ato, 1960 (After the Banquet, 1963); Gogo no eik f , 1963 (The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, 1965); H f j f no umi, 1969-1971 (The Sea of Fertility: A Cycle of Four Novels, 1972-1974; includes Haru no yuki, 1969 [Spring Snow, 1972], Homba, 1969 [Runaway Horses, 1973], Akatsuki no tera, 1970 [The Temple of Dawn, 1973], and Tennin gosui, 1971 [The Decay of the Angel, 1974). Kantan, wr. 1950, pb. 1956 (English translation, 1957); Yoro no himawari, pr., pb. 1953 (Twilight Sunflower, 1958); D f j f ji, pb. 1953 (English translation, 1966); Aya no tsuzumu, pr. 1955 (The Damask Drum, 1957); Shiroari no su, pr., pb. 1955; Aoi no ue, pr., pb. 1956 (The Lady Aoi, 1957); Hanjo, pb. 1956 (English translation, 1957); Sotoba Komachi, pb. 1956 (English translation, 1957); Kindai n f gakush n , pb. 1956 (includes Kantan, The Damask Drum, The Lady Aoi, Hanjo, and Sotoba Komachi; Five Modern N f Plays, 1957); T f ka no kiku, pr., pb. 1961; Sado k f shaku fujin, pr., pb. 1965 (Madame de Sade, 1967); Suzakuke no metsub f , pr., pb. 1967; Wa ga tomo Hittor 3 , pb. 1968 (My Friend Hitler, 1977); Chinsetsu yumiharizuki, pr., pb. 1969. Nonfiction: Hagakure ny n mon, 1967 (The Way of the Samurai, 1977); Taiy f to tetsu, 1968 (Sun and Steel, 1970); Yukio Mishima on "Hagakure": The Samurai Ethic and Modern Japan, 1978. Edited Text: New Writing in Japan, 1972 (with Geoffrey Bownas). Bibliography Keene, Donald. Fiction. Vol. 1 in Dawn to the West: Japanese Literature of the Modern Era. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1984. Keene's section on Mishima contains both biographical data and critical evaluations of a large number of Mishima's works. He quotes important passages from various works and from conversations that he had with Mishima. Includes notes, a bibliography, and a detailed index. _______. Landscapes and Portraits: Appreciation of Japanese Culture. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1971. The section on Mishima and his work comments on a variety of his works but especially on Confessions of a Mask, because, atypically, this novel is autobiographical, providing insight into his thinking and his relation to his own work. As in most works, Mishima's preoccupation with death is explored. Includes a short reading list but no index. _______. "Mishima in 1958." The Paris Review 37 (Spring, 1995): 140-160. Keene recalls his 1958 interview with Mishima, in which Mishima discussed influences, his delight in "cruel stories," the importance of traditional Japanese theater for him, and his novels and his other writing. Miyoshi, Masao. Accomplices of Silence: The Modern Japanese Novel. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974. Chapter 6 in part 2, "Mute's Rage," provides studies of two of Mishima's major novels, Confessions of a Mask and The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, as well as comments on works that Miyoshi considers to be important. Includes notes and an index. Napier, Susan J. Escape from the Wasteland: Romanticism and Realism in the Fiction of Mishima Yukio and b e Kenzabur f . Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1991. Napier uncovers shocking similarities as well as insightful dissimilarities in the work of Mishima and b e and ponders each writer's place in the tradition of Japanese literature. Nathan, John. Mishima: A Biography. Boston: Little, Brown, 1974. In this very readable biography, Nathan's personal acquaintance with Mishima as one of the writer's several translators is evident. The chapters are organized according to chronological periods in Mishima's life. In addition to a chronological listing of the major plays and novels, this volume contains a helpful index. Scott-Stokes, Henry. The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima. Rev. Ed. New York: Noonday Press, 1995. Following a personal impression of Mishima, Scott-Stokes presents a five-part account of Mishima's life, beginning with the last day of his life. The author then returns to Mishima's early life and the making of the young man as a writer. Part 4, "The Four Rivers," identifies the rivers of writing, theater, body, and action, discussing in each subsection relevant events and works. Part 5 is a "Post-mortem." Supplemented by a glossary, a chronology, a bibliography, and an index. Starrs, Roy. Deadly Dialectics: Sex, Violence, and Nihilism in the World of Yukio Mishima. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1994. A critical and interpretive look at sex and violence in Mishima's work. Includes bibliographical references and an index. Ueda, Makoto. Modern Japanese Writers and the Nature of Literature. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1976. Mishima is one of eight Japanese writers treated in this volume. While Ueda discusses certain novels in some detail, for the most part his discussion centers on philosophical and stylistic matters and suggests that Mishima's pessimism derived more from his appraisal of the state of human civilization than from his views on the nature of literature. Includes a brief bibliography and an index. Wolfe, Peter. Yukio Mishima. New York: Continuum, 1989. Wolfe asserts that common sense explains very little about motives in Mishima. "What makes him unusual is his belief that anything of value exists in close proximity to death." Victoria Price |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
If you need help with products and ordering, setting up a new account or working with this website, call or email us:
 |
SALEM PRESS, INC. · 131 North El Molino Avenue · Pasadena · CA 91101 © Salem Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |